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12 Essentials When Renovating A Tiny Mudroom While Keeping it Pretty

Here are 12 essentials when renovating a tiny mudroom/laundry room while still keeping it pretty.

12 Essentials When Renovating a Tiny Mudroom While Keeping it Pretty - So Much Better With Age

Last week I shared with you my Tiny Vintage Mudroom Makeover. I’m so glad to be showing more of the rooms of my house now that the holidays are over with.

This mudroom was one of my favorite renovations. I decided to get rid of a small hall closet and make this laundry room/mudroom bigger. It was the best decision ever!

I got a lot of push back from my contractor and a few other people thinking that getting rid of a closet was a very bad idea especially since I was making my main floor more open and that was the only closet.

But with planning, I came up with this brilliant idea and thought about where everything would go.

So let’s get started on the 12 essentials when renovating a tiny mudroom while keeping it pretty!

A photo of a washer and dryer in the small room.

Let’s refresh our memories at what the laundry room look like when I first toured the house, shall we?

An odd shaped room which was very small with the stackable washer and dryer unstacked.

A before shot of the mudroom.
A small window and a washing machine in the room.
There are shelves over the washing machine.

The hall closet was the small boxed in square to the left side of the photo that was removed to reveal a larger room.

Removing a closet beside the mudroom.

Here are more of those details about the rooms.

Arrows pointing to the closet removed.

And a view from the stairs. You can see in the tile how big the hall closet was. Not very big but such a huge difference was made by having it ripped out.

Vents, ducts and bulkheads were moved/removed to make the most of this tiny mudroom.

A view of the closet ripped apart.

Here’s a similar view from the stairs all renovated and made pretty with decor.

The room painted white with coats haning on hooks.

So let’s begin now with the 12 essentials for renovating this mudroom.

1. Pocket Door

That door that swung in had to go! It took up so much space so a pocket door was a smart solution.

Here it is getting roughed in.

Installing a pocket door into the room.
Framing in the walls of the new mudroom.
A ladder in the room.

Here’s a view looking into the small mudroom from the living room.

Putting up the drywall.

I had all new beautiful trim and doors and handles added throughout the house. It made such a huge difference to the overall look!

Showing the new trim around the door.

2. Small Sink with Pretty Faucet

3. Closed Storage

Once the drywall and paint was complete, it was time to add custom cabinetry with a quartz countertop and pretty faucet. Closed storage underneath and above the sink were a must in this tiny space.

There is a small sink being installed.
Building a cabinet around the small sink.
Preparing the plumbing for the sink.

My cleaning supplies are kept under the sink and laundry soaps are kept in the upper cabinet.

The cleaning supplies around the sink.

4. Stackable Washer and Dryer

This one seems obvious but the previous owners had these machines sitting across from each other. Using all the vertical space just makes sense in a small space.

A piece of cabinetry was made between the sink and washer and dryer to keep the machines snug in place.

A stackable washer and dryer in the room.
Stainless Steel washer and dryer.

5. Cubbies For All The Stuff

This goes without saying but mudrooms need to hold a lot of stuff! These cubbies and baskets can be changed out seasonally for stuff like mitts, hats, sunglasses, shoe polishes, etc.

Cubby holes with dark baskets by the front door.

12 Essentials When Renovating a Tiny Mudroom While Keeping it Pretty / hooks to hang jackets - So Much Better With Age 6. Hooks for Jackets

With the hall closet being gone, lots of hooks were needed for all the coats and jackets. I find this way easier than hangers and the kids can hang up their own coat but jumping up on the bench.

There are black hooks with coats on it.

7. Closed Drawers for Shoes

If your family is like my family, you’ll have a lot of shoes!

There’s no way those drawers will hold all our shoes but there are always runners and sneakers that can be kept in those drawers while larger ones kept lined up.

 French vintage umbrella holder crock.

Me and my two kids each have a drawer of our own so the space worked out perfect!

8. Small But Efficient Drying Rack

A drying rack in the room.

I seem to have a ton of clothing items that need to be hung to dry. This drying rack always stays out so it can’t be large. It’s the perfect size for this space. 

9. Durable (But Pretty) Flooring

I LOVE this charcoal grey tile. I have hardwood throughout but knew I wanted this room to be tiled. I don’t worry about my floors being scratched or damaged and the grey hides the daily dirt.

A slate floor with boots on it.
Picture of 3 different sizes of crocks.

10. Small Containers to Hold Laundry Essentials

I love hiding soaps in cute containers. This French enamel tin is where I hid my Oxi-Clean.

Containers to hold laundry items.

Cleaning supplies in pretty bottles are a nice find too!

Cleaning supplies by the sink.

11. Good Lighting That Looks Good Too!

I’m constantly doing laundry so I need a bright light. I love a vintage looking schoolhouse light like this one.

Brand new lights in the room.
Brush items hanging on the wall in the mudroom.

And that leaves me with the final one…

12. Pretty Decor (of course)

Laundry is one of those things we all must do and it just makes life better when it can be in a nicer room. I actually like doing laundry when it’s in a pretty room.

And it doesn’t have to be large. This room is small (especially compared to my previous house’s laundry room) but efficient. With a well organized room, it just makes life run more smoothly.

A framed laundry picture on the counter.
French vintage brushes on wall.

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12 Essentials When Renovating a Tiny Mudroom While Keeping it Pretty.

Click in Case You Missed It:

Tiny Vintage Mudroom Makeover

Tiny Vintage Mudroom Makeover graphic.

My Previous Laundry Room

My Previous House - The Laundry Room - So Much Better With Age
12-essentials-when-renovating-a-tiny-mudroom-while-keeping-it-pretty-2 - So Much Better With Age

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18 Comments

  1. Absolutely love this room! You did such a great job with it and yes, smartest decision ever to remove the hall closet.

  2. Looks like a great post, but just FYI, I am getting a CAR MAX add that keep covering the page, every time I scroll down it covers it again!

    1. Hi Monica,
      That’s awful, I’m having some auditing done on my blog right now to get rid of ads. Was it on desktop or mobile do you remember?
      Hugs,
      Jamie

  3. wow. I admire a person who can picture how things will work …envision the change….
    It is amazing….
    Nancy
    wildoakdesigns.blogspot.com

  4. This is so adorable, Jamie! Thanks for sharing at #HomeMattersParty! Love all those cute french decorations — what a fun place to come in the door, and do laundry! Great tips, as well. Have a great week, hope to see you this Friday for a new party!

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